Cypress Lake High grad returns to school as head football coach

Coach Richie Rode, a Cypress Lake alum, will take the helm this spring. He had been at Fort Myers High School since 2002, where he was offensive coordinator and head track coach.

Monday, January 11th 2016, 3:07 PM EST

Cypress Lake High School announced the hiring of a head football coach Monday, and he's no stranger to the school.

Coach Richie Rode, a Cypress Lake alum, will take the helm this spring. He had been at Fort Myers High School since 2002, where he was offensive coordinator and head track coach.

Rode was named Lee County Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for Track from 2011 to 2015. As offensive coordinator, he helped build an explosive offense that averaged over 40 points per game and set numerous team-scoring and yardage records.

Rode was also an assistant baseball coach in addition to serving as an economics teacher at Fort Myers High. He has accepted a teaching position at Cypress Lake.

Rode is a 1997 graduate of Cypress Lake High School, having played for the last district championship football team under legendary Coach John Weber.

“Richie is an alum; he’s got a lot of experience. He comes from a great program at Fort Myers High School. Coach Rode is a great hire," Weber said.

Liam Farrell, athletic director at Cypress, said, “I am thrilled to have Coach Rode join the Cypress Lake community. He’s been successful in every aspect of his coaching career, but more importantly, he is a family man of high character.”

Of his return to the Panthers, Coach Rode said, “I am really excited for this opportunity to return to my alma mater. I have been fortunate to have been around a number of excellent coaches through the years and am now ready to take on the challenge of leading the Cypress Lake Panthers for years to come. I look forward to implementing a plan and a vision for a program of which the Panther community can be proud.”

Principal Angela Roles said Rode was the clear choice of 58 applicants. Roles said part of what impressed her most was his academic accomplishments. Rode teaches AP and IB Economics and has one of his former school’s highest pass rates for those exams.

“He is perfect for our school," Roles said. "He understands how important the arts and academic programs are at Cypress. Not only are we getting a world-class human being who is going to lead a program we can be proud of, we are getting a top-notch teacher.”